Was anyone else aware you can just _take_ enemy provinces?

[Baron]

Yeah! If you're at war with an adjacent neighbour, and your city has enough pop to expand, you can just flip their provinces to your side the same way you would transfer them between your own cities. Click on the province, then the arrow button, and select Capture Province. You just need to have an army standing on the improvement, like you would to pillage it.

[Terrkas]

I noticed on my coop game. Took the teleporter so my buddy could send reinforcements if needed. Without me having unlocked teleporter yet.

[Stormwind]

What! I never knew this.

I had a couple games where my throne was surrounded by mountains with the nearest free city blocking the path out, if I had known this I could have grabbed a province to expand out of the dead end instead of just razing the city to the ground to get it out of my way.

[Midas]

Interesting. Considering how useful outposts are close to enemy territory as well, this almost makes it seem like the intent was to build outposts right on the edge of enemy territory and essentially consume their city sector by sector.

[hilfazer]

I knew this.

I also know it's not possible to do it if the province improvement was razed (correct me if i'm wrong). What do you guys think about it? Do you think it should still be possible or not?

[sandman25dcsss]

Razed provinces are wierd. I razed a province, captured the city, vassalized it and then can't enter razed province centre to repair it (getting warning about declaring war with own vassal) despite it produces nothing for the vassal. It made me stop pillaging provinces :(

[snuggleform]

Does this cost you alignment the same way pillaging does?

[Terrkas]

Originally posted by snuggleform:

Does this cost you alignment the same way pillaging does?

No conquering had no costs i think

[Baron]

So, no you can't flip it if you pillage it, and no you don't lose alignment for doing it.

Personally, I'm loving it. It makes me so much more willing to aggressively forward-settle my opponents in non-evil playthroughs, because I have an option for taking any good provinces they beat me to, and I can just vassalize the rest of the city.

Before I realized this, it felt suboptimal to compete for resource clusters, because I knew I could just drop an outpost, let them expand for grievances, and vassalize their whole city with the resources included.

Now, I have the flexibility to aggressively pursue resource clusters I need through expansion, so I can get them earlier and benefit from 100% of the income on them. The downside is that it requires more finagling, but it's already a 4X game - what, am I going to complain that I have to engage with one of the game's core features more deliberately?

I love this mechanic. It makes the outpost-preparing-for-war phase feel much more interesting.

EDIT: AND DEFENSIVE STRUCTURES! In the game I discovered this, I was playing an Order build. I actually forced the AI to siege the city that was eating their territory, and got real, actual use out of Healing Spires! Plus, those City Spells that you can only cast on Friendly cities, like the morale buff to all combats in the domain? Even before the siege, I had to send raiding parties out from the city to keep flipping provinces, and I was able to catch out enemy stacks in my newly-acquired territory to benefit from the buff!

[sandman25dcsss]

Originally posted by Baron:

So, no you can't flip it if you pillage it, and no you don't lose alignment for doing it.

Personally, I'm loving it. It makes me so much more willing to aggressively forward-settle my opponents in non-evil playthroughs, because I have an option for taking any good provinces they beat me to, and I can just vassalize the rest of the city.

Before I realized this, it felt suboptimal to compete for resource clusters, because I knew I could just drop an outpost, let them expand for grievances, and vassalize their whole city with the resources included.

Now, I have the flexibility to aggressively pursue resource clusters I need through expansion, so I can get them earlier and benefit from 100% of the income on them. The downside is that it requires more finagling, but it's already a 4X game - what, am I going to complain that I have to engage with one of the game's core features more deliberately?

I love this mechanic. It makes the outpost-preparing-for-war phase feel much more interesting.

EDIT: AND DEFENSIVE STRUCTURES! In the game I discovered this, I was playing an Order build. I actually forced the AI to siege the city that was eating their territory, and got real, actual use out of Healing Spires! Plus, those City Spells that you can only cast on Friendly cities, like the morale buff to all combats in the domain? Even before the siege, I had to send raiding parties out from the city to keep flipping provinces, and I was able to catch out enemy stacks in my newly-acquired territory to benefit from the buff!

You should probably copy this post to threads with complaints about AI creating outposts near player. AI is smart ;)

[Baron]

Yeahhhh, if the AI actually used this feature, I might. But the AI sure is programmed to do what players are supposed to do! Gotta generate those claims and grievances.

[Wlerin]

I'e definitely seen the AI take my provinces. It was very shocking the first time because I didn't even realise it was possible.